


Circle of Hell

by The_Marron



Series: Dance With the Devil [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: AU, Canon-Typical Violence, Constantine!Au, M/M, Manipulation, demon!Hux, kinda angst?, or rather half-breed!Hux
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-02 19:14:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6579043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Marron/pseuds/The_Marron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben Solo could not fulfill his destiny as a Watcher. Kylo Ren didn't even try to change that.<br/>Didn't even consider it a possibility.<br/>At least not until the most irritating half-breed he had ever met decided to strike a bargain.</p><p>Basically a Constantine (2005) au no one wanted or asked for.</p><p>EDIT: OMG, It's finally beta-ed, after all this time!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Circle of Hell

**Author's Note:**

> Right, so like I stated in the summary, it is mostly self-indulgent, I saw many demon!Kylos going around and not enough Huxs (Huxes?), so this is my contribution. 
> 
> The world is based on movie version of Constantine and doesn't take into account the comics or the TV Series, so some of the rules here are simply made up. Action takes place on Coruscant because a) consider this: demons in space and b) I have no idea how Los Angeles looks like.  
> Since there is no notion of Christianity in SW, the whole hell/heaven thing is based on the Force and I hope it makes sense. For the same reason Kylo and the rest are 'watchers' not 'Exorcists'. 
> 
> Un-Christian ways of dealing with evil make sense only because Ascel was there to help me through it, so thank you very much, my dear!
> 
> The title is taken from Constantine OST
> 
> Beta-ed by wonderful Gabi who didn't kill me for abusing commas :P
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you'll like it!

This was such a bad idea.

It was bad from the very start, Uncle Luke was right, he should have known... Should have listened.

But of course, he never listened, he never even considered that he might be wrong, Hux always told him that and...

And now Hux was not here.

Kylo didn't know if Hux was anywhere at all. If he was still on this plane. If he was in heaven. If he was back in hell.

Behind that door was the answer to the most pressing matter, and yet here he was, deliberating.

He tightened his grip on his sword.

He was ready. Always had been, despite Luke's insistence otherwise. He pushed the door open, not bothering with knocking. They knew he was coming after all, he was practically invited.

The first thing that hit him was the suffocating stink of blood in the air, mixed with sulfur. Not human blood, then. If his heart was hammering before, it threatened to break his ribcage now.

It couldn't be... _No_.

He moved down the stairs and into the club, now suspiciously deserted, not a single half-breed in sight. That was never a good sign, the First Order was always brimming with life, packed with half-breeds of both sides, all somehow getting on under Phasma's watchful eye. Now even Phasma was not here, a final testament to how wrong the situation was.

He had told Hux to stay home.

But no, the fool drugged him and went by himself, like lamb to the slaughter. And he had the audacity to call Kylo irresponsible, when he was the one to go and risk his life for... For what exactly?

He moved through the rooms, his sword ready and his eyes looking for anything that could resemble Hux. There was nothing, the club was empty. Deserted.

If it wasn't for the sulfur-tainted blood, he would assume he was in a wrong place. But the smell was too strong for its source to be anything but recent.

He reached the last room, usually occupied by the closest associates of Snoke the Supreme.

Nothing.

That left only one option. The Chair Room. The Throne room, as Luke called it, his lips twisted in distaste. And yet Luke was the only one who could enter it to use the chair, excluding Snoke himself.

He opened the door, smell of blood hitting his face. The room was dark, yet his eyes were too well-adjusted for it to be a problem for long.

The first thing he noticed were the red stains on the floor. He almost didn't want to trace the crimson lines with his gaze, too afraid he might see a familiar shape, a strand of red hair, anything that would tell him once and for all that he was too late, that Hux was gone. He did it anyway.

Finally, he noticed the black, curled up shape at the bottom of the podium that supported the chair, or whatever that was. Kylo was not interested in that at the moment, not even trying to control himself.

He ran into the direction of the bundle, still hoping against hope, fooling himself that somehow it wasn't Hux...

In the back of his mind he felt that he was being watched, possibly from the fucking throne or whatever that was, but it didn't matter right now. What mattered was reaching that body covered in a black cloak, lying on its side.

It couldn't be Hux, he couldn't accept that, it was all a misunderstanding...

He kneeled next to the prone figure on the floor, sword thrown next to it. Not bothering with gentleness he moved the corpse, for it definitely was a corpse by now, judging from the temperature, _oh he could be wrong, please could he be wrong_...

All the blood around it...

For a moment, he couldn't believe his eyes.

It wasn't Hux.

The corpse was already rotting, as half-breed's bodies did when the spirit left them. The proportions, the skin, everything was wrong. No red hair. No hair at all. It was almost like...

With a growing horror Kylo realized what he was holding.

A mutilated, lifeless body that once belonged to Snoke the Supreme, the witchdoctor and owner of the First Order, the Herald of Balance. But who would...

Now, Kylo remembered the feeling of eyes watching him, of someone observing him from the darkness as he approached...

He looked up at the podium.

The big chair made of black wood truly deserved the name of the throne, but Kylo's mind was not focused on it right now. It was the last observation he had made about the whole picture in front of him, the first being the glimmer of almost golden, inhuman eyes.

Eyes of a half-breed, changing with light, the only thing that helped telling the half-breeds apart from humans.

This one particular half-breed, Kylo would recognize everywhere.

With his left hand supporting his chin, with his mouth hidden behind his curled fingers, he stared down at Kylo, his attire stained with something dark.

Hux was very much alive.

And was watching Kylo now, something like sadness in his golden eyes, eyes that night before were still blue and looking at Kylo with something he in his stupidity interpreted as love.

Now they were cold and calculating, betraying no warmth, no fire Kylo could see in them in the past. Maybe he had just imagined it all along.

Oh, heavens, Luke was right and Kylo was a fool.

* * *

 

_1 year ago_

 

He should really stop coming here.

The First Order was seedy at its best and not being a qualified Watcher Kylo had truly no reason to be here at all. He wasn't Luke's apprentice, not anymore, and he would never become a Watcher, his mother made damn sure of that. Still, it gave him some kind of a perverse joy to observe his uncle from the shadows of the First Order, as he stumbled through the crowds with yet another apprentice.

They never stayed for long. Some resigned. Some were deemed unfit. Some died. And some were seduced by the Dark and were forever disgraced, unable to carry on family's legacy. Forbidden from doing so, even, no matter how strong their powers were and how effective they might have been.

Lately however, even this hobby was not enough, mostly because Luke's newest apprentice was very resilient. She was some teenaged prodigy of sorts. She saw ghosts of the future past or some other shit, and in Luke's books that made her special and trustworthy apparently.

Because she was sensitive. Kylo, when he was still going by Ben, was never described as 'sensitive'. 'Unstable' was always more accurate, at least according to Ben's father.

"You seem to be even more hateful than usual. Birthday?" Kylo groaned. He turned his head to look behind his shoulder where stood the most annoying half-breed Kylo had the misfortune to meet.

"Hux, be a dear and disappear. Or I'll make you." He would probably hate the red-head slightly less if he at least smirked, or something. But no, he always had that disgusted sneer on his face whenever he addressed Kylo, which thankfully wasn't too often.

"Without any kind of license I don't think you can. Not to mention, I doubt you are able to. So careful, Ren. Phasma would have to throw you out after your miserable attempt and no one would welcome you here anymore. Where would you sit consumed with hate and inferiority-complex then?" His tone was almost impassive, but his face betrayed a tiniest bit of smugness. Really, if there was a half-breed that deserved being deported back to hell right now, it was Hux. For the sheer capacity to annoy Kylo with his mere existence.

"What do you want?" To his horror instead of answering, Hux took that as an invitation to sit down next to him, joining Kylo in his scrutiny of Skywalker and his apprentice, now engrossed in something like negotiations with one of the winged half-breeds.

"Oh, she is good, isn't she? Almost half a year, she might be a keeper." Hux mused, his tone still neutral. It would be more bearable if he at least gloated, but no, he was still above it all. So disinterested.

"I still don't see any reason for you to be here." He hissed, diverting his attention from his former master back to his drink. _Odd_ , he thought, _I was sure I'd finished it seconds ago_. And yet the glass was filled with blue liquid, complete with an olive, or whatever it was swimming in it. He looked at Hux, question ready on his lips.

"It's on the house." Which was rich, because Hux technically didn't work here. He simply appeared from the shadows at some point, always dressed in black and his red hair always in place, perfectly combed. Whenever Kylo read about 'a deal with the devil' trope in legends from other planets, he always imagined Hux s the devil figure, and he probably wasn't the only one. With his pressed suits, often uniforms, his professional mask set in place and that careful speech Hux was a perfect picture of a 'devil'. Thankfully, Coruscant no longer believed in devils, so he would be rather out of job.

He waited for a moment, enjoying his free drink, for Hux to state his business.

Kylo was not exactly the only human at the premises, so if all Hux wanted was some mortal to torment, he could do better. True, not many ordinary people even knew of the existence of the First Order, but for those who did, it was some kind of a thrill to look at the usual clientele of the place. Like tourists, or rather moths drawn to a flame. Half-breeds were here to deceive, to lead to the Dark, and coming here was like literally asking to be damned. Everyone caved at some point, listening to the velvety, friendly whispers of the hellish folk, believing that they could achieve anyrything they desired. Fools.

He looked at Hux.

"I don't get it, why do you do it to yourself" He finally said, his words no more than a faint whisper. It took Kylo by surprise, almost making him choke on his drink.

"Excuse me?"

"Sitting here and observing Skywalker on one of his investigations. Looking at his students, knowing neither one is as bright or powerful as you and yet here they are, following him when you are forbidden from ever joining him. Do you like pain?" If Hux was trying to sound concerned he wasn't doing a good job. His voice was still rather impassive, curious at best. Damn him. How dare he speak of Kylo's life like that, like he knew what he was talking about, like he had any right to know!

He tried to reignin the wave of anger, but in vain. Before he knew it he had his hand on Hux's immaculate tie, threatening to tighten the grip.

"That's none of your business. And I won't even ask how you know all of that, because I don't care. Leave." He growled. And yet, Hux didn't look scared. Bored, at best.

"I meant no disrespect, Ren." Kylo held still, at least until he felt sharp claws resting on his outstretched arm. "I would hate to stain your clothes, so unhand me. Unless, of course, you really are looking for pain." The pressure of the claws grew and Kylo had to relent. He wouldn't be able to choke the half-breed anyway and he liked his hand right where it was. He let go and Hux sighed, his clawed hand retreating, claws giving place to human nails.

As if nothing happened, Hux refilled Kylo's glass with a gesture and leaned back on his chair.

"I simply wonder. Whenever I am here, and that's quite frequent recently, you are here as well. But, unlike other humans, you are not looking for a thrill of dancing with the devil, you are not looking for a hook up, nor are you searching for a genie to grant your wishes. You simply sit here and look at Skywalker."

"You just answered your own question."

"Not exactly. What do you get out of it?" Kylo was never a patient man and now he was a very angry non-patient man. Still, any attempt at violence would result in him being spotted by Phasma, like Hux said, and he really would like to avoid being thrown out. Maybe he should change the table.

"These few encounters we've had you had only distaste and contempt for me and now you want to be my fucking therapist? Not likely. What do you want, Hux?" The first time he had met that damned half-breed was also the last time he had any pleasant thought about him. Until he opened his mouth and started talking, he was the most interesting specimen of his kind  Kylo had ever seen. Their kind was always rather attractive, their hair black, sometimes bleached blond, their smiles easy and enticing, inviting. Hux was... pleasant to look at, he stood out due to his height and unusual red-hair. He didn't fit with the rest, his movements precise instead of seductive and his face not marred with a smile. Even his accent, from what Kylo heard was different. Everything about him was fascinating.

Until Mitaka, one of the waiters, decided to give Hux a tour around the First Order and both of them went by Kylo's table. Hux, though Kylo did not know his name by then, was practically staring at him, his eyebrows raised, as if he was offended with Kylo's presence. They got into a fight half an hour later, thankfully verbal, and Kylo went home with Hux's name, his own battered pride and deep hatred for the man, which he learned later was rather requited.

And now Hux suddenly wanted to play nice and be interested in Kylo. _Yeah, right_.

"Do you wish he will acknowledge you? That one day he will come to you and ask for help?" Oh, how he wanted to make Hux shut up, right now. He stood up, ready to leave. He didn't have to tolerate this any longer, he's had enough!

He was stopped by a hand on his sleeve.

He looked down, to spit some cutting remark right into Hux's face, but the half-breed was faster. With mouth next to Kylo's ear he simply whispered. "He should." His breath was warm, almost humanlike and Kylo shuddered. But Hux's words gave him a pause. 

He sat down, putting as distance as possible between him and Hux and his whispers.

"Why?" Thankfully, his voice was steady.

"He is dealing with something that is beyond his ability and comprehension right now. And he is looking in all the wrong places. "

"And you care because...?" This time Hux gave him a real glare.

"Because what he is up against concerns me. And he will not succeed. Not how he is right now, old and much too righteous, he will never find any trace or lead. People will keep on suffering and he will be still chasing his tail."

"I won't help you with relying this to him, I have no influence over him. We don't even talk."

"I don't want Skywalker's help. I want yours." Kylo didn't exactly laugh in Hux's face, but he was close. What was next?

"I can assure you, I have no intention of helping you with anything. Glad we had this talk. Go away." Hux didn't move.

"You haven't asked me about the price." At the far corner of the First Order, Luke Skywalker stopped his conversation and even though the light was dim and there were plenty of tables between them, Kylo could see his frustration. The negotiations were futile and both he and his protégée were ready to leave, defeated.

He looked back at Hux. Maybe there was some truth in what the half-breed said.

"You have nothing to offer." Hux must be very desperate if he started negotiations without having an upper hand. Here, he had nothing Kylo could possibly want from him.

"In exchange for my safety I'll make you a Watcher."

_What the hell._

*

He came back to his flat assured he had made a good decision. There was no way Hux could do that and 'no' was the only reasonable answer to such a statement. A long, loud 'no', followed by storming out of _First Order_. Hopefully, Hux dealt with the bill. Frankly, Kylo couldn't give a damn.

'I'll make you a Watcher'. As if. How could a simple half-breed ever do this? No, it was too ludicrous to even consider, there was no way...

He looked out of the window, enjoying the sunset. Coruscant was a planet that never slept and was always so full of life and rush, no matter the time of the day, Millions of lights were permanently on, advertisements and clubs beckoning the crowds with their colours and movement, asking them to stop, even for a little while. It was a perfect place for such faul creatures like Hux, waiting for the naive to fall.

And at the centre of the planet, few buildings away from Kylo's, there was the Senate. Where once Senator Amidala held her position and fought for the better tomorrow. Not many were aware that she had a husband and children. Not many cared, when her star shined so brightly, when her party argued and argued for freedom, for justice and peace.

And then, she died leaving the whole Republic distraught and in mourning. Only then some people remembered her husband, the Watcher by the name of Anakin Skywalker. Not many people knew what Watcher was by then and Anakin's departure from the Coruscant started a windmill of gossip which all were linked with one conclusion: It was Skywalker who killed her. That was the belief that survived in the Republic and therefore in Anakin's own children. It was much later that Luke Skywalker cleaned the family name and brought back Anakin's body and new respect for the Watchers back on the Coruscant.

With his sister, Leia Organa in a Senate and him himself starting anew what his father destroyed, the Republic regained trust in the Skywalker family. They were not exactly celebrities, but they were known, they were trusted. They were good.

That was what Kylo, or rather Ben Organa was born to. Into this blinding trust that they could never go wrong, that they were the protectors of the Republic. That they were good. And Ben wanted to be good too. He was born with a gift, with a sense to see, to feel the Dark and Light, to affect it and stop it from affecting him. He never fully learned what happened to his grandfather, not until the same happened to him. All he knew, all that he hoped to be, disappeared that one night.

Before, he was a hero, a savior. A Watcher.

And next he was a mad murderer covered in blood of his fellow students, unaware of what happened.

He lost his will to a demon, they said. Like his grandfather did before he fully abandoned the way of the Watchers.

And just like that, Ben Organa was not a Watcher anymore. He would never be a Watcher. He didn't know how to be anything else. He still remembered his parents' faces, the horror and dread with which they stared at him. As if he would attack them the moment they let their guard down. So he made sure they never had to see him again.

At fourteen he escaped here, to his grandfather's old flat and stayed here. Coruscant, the great metropolis, had plenty of more or less legal jobs for a fourteen old to do to somehow survive. Hacking, smuggling, odd jobs.

Now he was a freelancer technology expert and was almost satisfied with his life. He learned to ignore the pull to act whenever he felt the Dark on the rise, whenever he passed someone with a half-breed on their arm, when he saw in his dreams another soul lost to some balance-breaking machinations. He almost liked being blind and only his contract with Snoke kept him in touch with the 'otherside'.

That, and his unhealthy obsession with observing his uncle train that numerous replacements of him, reveling in the fact than none came close to staying as long as he did. He very carefully did not try to analyze why Luke no longer trained more than one at the time.

He grew up. He could deal with not being the Watcher, with not being the hero Ben always thought he would be. But Ben was weak, Ben was easily overpowered by the Dark. And Kylo Ren could deal with that, had been dealing with that for the last fifteen years. He was almost happy.

And then came Hux with his ridiculous, unreal proposition, giving him hope where he knew was none. None. Besides he knew better than to make any kind of deal with a half-breed. Especially that one.

He could live with not being a Watcher.

He went to bed, not bothering to shower, repeating the word like a mantra.

He could live with not being a Watcher.

*

He carried on with his life for the next few days, busy with many different commissions. He was so busy he couldn't even go to First Order for a drink, not that he was avoiding anyone.

He had no reason to avoid anyone, Hux for example, because he had already gave his answer. Besides, if, and only if, he actually considered the proposition, helping Hux was out of question. That stuck up bastard probably got what he deserved and hopefully was already back in hell. He probably pissed off people much more powerful than Kylo. Not that it was in any way Kylo's business.

It was almost a week since the proposition when he entered his flat and was welcomed with a sight of a very unconscious Hux lying on his couch. For a second he considered shooting the half-breed with a blaster he pulled out the moment he sensed another presence in his flat, but finally decided against it. It wouldn't kill the ginger and he seemed to be in a sufficient amount of pain already. The left side of his face looked as if it was burned with something, most probably ocean water, judging from the white lines that covered the wilted flesh. Crystallized salt.

Without the layer of skin Hux shed the pretenses of being human and took a true shape of every half-breed: that of a dried out corpse. That's what they essentially were, according to Luke. Souls of those who should be swallowed by the Dark, that should go to 'hell'.

 _Hell was another plane of reality_ , Luke usually said, _where only those wicked, those who strengthened the Dark could go_. Whatever happened to them was unclear, but some texts claimed that they suffered there, for the Force of the Universe was just at its core. Others said that they simply existed again, forgetting their lives on this plane as they entered the world created by the Dark. There were many different ideas and opinions, yet no one knew anything for sure, for no one came back.

Half-breeds were the spirits of the wicked that were detained here by some sort of attachment, unfulfilled mission or whatever. They were essentially demons. Just here, not there. Demons couldn't leave hell, they could only talk to humans, whisper in their ears, though they seldom did it. Half-breeds took care of the temptation well enough and Coruscant was the best place for them, with so many people, so many different races loitering around and so many powerful figures in one place.

Of course, there were half-breeds created by the Light, souls that were meant to go to the plane of those who fought for Light, who were good and kind-hearteat but were somehow detained. Not many souls decided to come back here to live the half-life. Most simply passed over, ready to face whatever it was that waited for them on that plane of reality.

_No use in getting into theory when there is a body on my couch._

Hux was still breathing, which shouldn't be a relief in itself. His face looked terrible and from what he could see through the torn clothes, the rest of him didn't look much better. Ocean water would do that to them, it would clean their flesh from the illusion of humanity they wore like a mask, showing their true nature.

Only the witchdoctors knew how the half-breeds were created, for they were the ones to receive their souls and bound them to flesh, so Kylo had no idea what to do now.

He could throw Hux out, which was a reasonable, not to say tempting, option.

But somehow it struck him as a wrong thing to do. After all, Hux probably came here to ask Kylo for help and apparently he had a good reason to do so. Whoever did that to him must have been either very strong, or very cunning. Hux was a regular pain in the ass but he knew how to look after himself.

With a sigh he went to get some water from his refrigerator. He retrieved a towel from the bathroom, not bothering with Hux's eventual reaction to being cleaned with a used one. Beggars cannot be choosers.

Getting rid of salty stains of the ocean water would be a good start, maybe it would trigger the healing or something. It was something he could do to occupy himself with.

With no gentleness he lifted Hux's prone body and took off his already ruined shirt and tie, looking at the damage underneath it. He immediately regretted it for he was quite sure he could see Hux's heart through the decaying muscle. Fighting the urge to vomit he started to swipe the flesh with the towel, aiming for the most visible white stains. He really did not have it in him to check if Hux's legs also required attention, he was already doing much more than he was comfortable with doing.

Eerily, the right side of Hux's body seemed untouched and remained in its almost human shape, pale skin covered with freckles suddenly giving way to a blackish corpse of a drowned man. _Why watch horrors when you could simply run a hospital for half-breeds?_

When he was done with Hux's chest, carefully maneuvering his fingers so he doesn't quite literally stab the man in the heart, Kylo moved to his face. The left eye was almost unmarred, only few holes in the eyelids. Hux's cheek took the worst of damage, alongside his neck. He didn't move when Kylo none too-gently swiped at him with water, wishing for this to be over.

Why would he come to Kylo?

True, he probably didn't have any friends, not with his attitude, but still it didn't give him the right to bother any man he might have talked with at _First Order_. Not that there were plenty of them anyway. If Hux talked with anyone it was either Phasma, the guardian of the place, or Kylo. Still no reason to bother him at his own house.

He was finally finished, tired and disgusted with the whole situation when the flesh started to knit itself together and new patches of skin appeared to cover it, hiding the rotten insides yet again under the fake beauty of a human body. He waited for Hux to open his eyes and explain himself, but in vain.

Fine, if he wanted to lie there like a corpse, so be it, Kylo was out.

He was getting his shower and he was going to sleep, ignoring the unwelcome freeloader for the time being. Maybe he will be gone in the morning.

*

Hux wasn't gone in the morning.

In fact he was very annoyingly present in the morning, abusing Kylo's coffee maker to obey his wishes.

Aside from the sheer absurdity of having a half-breed in his house, having a half-breed talking to unanimated objects was a new level of weird, even for Kylo Ren's life. He stumbled out of his bed, not bothering with dressing up much, just putting on some pants. He wasn't exactly having a guest so he couldn't be bothered with good manners.

"What the hell are you doing?" He growled entering the living room and glaring in the direction of the kitchenette where Hux was still hitting the coffee maker.

"Hilarious choice of words, Ren, I'm amazed. Also, to answer your question: coffee." Came the reply. Considering the things he had to deal with yesterday, Kylo was not going to stand for this kind of attitude, nor for the abuse of his possessions.

"You mean you are failing to make a coffee. " He hissed. This time, the glare was directed at him, not at the poor machine.

"You tampered with it, haven't you? You changed something in it so it doesn't work like the rest." The half-breed accused.

"Yes. Before I throw you out with a repair bill for breaking this thing of beauty I demand answers. Mostly for questions like 'what possessed you to come here' and 'how did you know where I lived', for a good start." He counted on many different reactions, but Hux sighing tiredly wasn't one of them.

"That's what a need the coffee for. It's a long story and after putting me back together, you deserve it." Perplexed, Kylo joined Hux in the kitchenette and set the program for coffee.

If Hux forwent his usual hatred, shit was getting real and he indeed would need coffee.

*

"First of all, I appreciate you taking care of me yesterday. I had no idea where else to go, to be quite honest, and I'd have never assumed that you would let me in and even help me, so..."

"It's not exactly a 'thank you'. Also, you let yourself in without my help. Snoke told you where I lived?"With that he took another sip of his coffee. It was a strange beverage but Kylo took a great liking to it.  It was imported from Kashyyyk and became very popular, especially among those who worked late. Or woke up to half-breeds in their kitchen. It somehow calmed nerves.

"Yes, some time ago." Ah, yes, now Hux decided not to be a man of many words.

"Who did this to you?" Not that he necessarily cared, but it was a conversation starter. Besides, he still hadn't managed to get rid of Hux until know so he might as well entertain himself with this story.

"Luke Skywalker. You refused me your help, I had to talk to someone. He wasn't exactly friendly or helpful, as you can see." That didn't sound like something Luke would do, but then again Hux had that way about him that made people want to strangle him. The question was, who did Hux piss off so badly that he was even willing to go to Skywalker?

The Balance, the non-interference rule stated that as long as half-breeds did not harm the living they were to be left alone. It was individual's choice to either listen to them or not, as long as they refrained from physical harm and mind control they were relatively safe from the Watchers. To be attacked by Luke Hux would have to break the rules of balance pretty violently. Or maybe he was lying and it was not Luke who burned him.

Maybe he did it himself... No, that was too much of a stretch.

Half-breeds couldn't stand even the smell of salt, not to mention touching it.

"And what possibly have you done to him to test his temper? I cannot imagine, you are not vexing at all."

Hux glared at him.

"Could you please leave your condescending out of it? I came to you for help, not to be insulted. I thought I was the bad one and you are the good one?"

"I helped you already. My limit of good deeds for the week is up." The response angered Hux, which was a novelty in itself.

"How is it possible that you could live your whole life as an ultimate bastard and moment before your death have a sudden change of heart and pass on to the Light, when I have to live with my sentence no matter what good I might try to achieve?" The half-breed growled, standing up, as if to leave. Kylo had no intention of stopping him. However...

"What are you talking about?"

"Your freaking grandfather. He is not in hell, that much I'm sure of. It means that after all he did he was redeemed because he... _regretted it_. And you with your stony heart and hurt pride will probably do the same, whereas I'm damned because I made one, single mistake and died shortly after. I don't believe I'm dependant on you. " But Kylo's mind was stuck on the fact that his grandfather was not in hell. He couldn't really believe Hux, not quite, and yet...

Hux ranted on, walking back and forth in front of the table. Like a general in front of his troops. " But I am. And I really need you. I don't want to go." he suddenly said, stopping in front of Kylo, his voice suddenly shaky.

"You are afraid." He stated, looking into the surprisingly human eyes. They were blue.

"I already know where I am going. You have the privilege of doubt. Wouldn't you be afraid, were you in my place?" There was such intensity behind his eyes that for a moment Kylo could not voice any answer. He never would have thought that half-breed's eyes can be so emotive and yet...

_In exchange for my safety I'll make you a Watcher._

He tried to banish those words from his brain but now, looking at Hux's desperate expression they returned twice as strong, tormenting him with promises, with possibilities...

_I'll make you a Watcher._

"Maybe. I'm not saying I am very keen on sheltering you here and acting as your supernatural bodyguard, but let's suppose for a moment that I am. " Kylo already knew he lost this fight, he might as well take some pleasure from it. He sent Hux a self-satisfied smile, fully enjoying the hold he had over the half-breed. Oh, how the tables had changed, with Kylo for once having the upper hand and opportunity to stare him down. " Who shall I protect you from?"

Hux took a step back, as if only now realizing how close he was in Kylo's personal space.

"Snoke." Oh, wonderful. Encouraged by Kylo's silence Hux started talking.

*

"... So let me sum it up because frankly, I'm not into great speeches and probably missed half of the things you said: you want to buy your way to heaven by stopping Snoke from brainwashing people with the help of his half-breeds?" Hux simply looked at him with distaste, already seated back on his chair nursing a cup of whatever he helped himself to from Kylo's refrigerator.

"To put is as simply as I can for you, yes."

"And you are the only one who noticed because...?" From Hux's expression he judged that he'd hit the nerve. Wonderful, Kylo was enjoying this altruism thing already.

"Because I am observant. And not necessarily from around here, so I look at your world with the eyes of a stranger. I perceive more." _Yeah, keep telling yourself that_. "Also, he tried to use me." That was more likely.

"And Luke tired to kill you...?"

"He tried to make me go away. He said that Snoke is an important ally and that no word I say can be trusted. He also added that no matter if it's true or not, as long as there is no actual brainwashing involved it doesn't break the balance rule. I told you he was too old-fashioned and noble to actually help."

"Have you considered that maybe he is right? It's their free will if they want to listen to the likes of you." The irony of that particular statement came to him seconds later.

"He is investigating strange disappearances. He will never find anything because he is looking for half-breeds responsible."

"And the real culprits are...?" The sneer on Hux's face stopped being irritating, in fact it started to felt like Kylo's private triumph.

"Humans. Manipulated by Snoke's lackeys to listen to him, of course. Don't be obtuse. It does not suit you."

Kylo scoffed.

"So people are dying, Luke is sure it has something to do with half-breeds and cannot find anything but he refuses to believe you because that's what you are, a half-breed. And apparently Snoke knows you know and decided he no longer likes you?"

"Basically. Thank you for your wonderful summary, you should pursue a career. News announcer or something. You have a great gift for stating the obvious." And now Hux was frustrated, this day was getting better and better. Really, if a threat on his life made Hux so emotional and easy to mock then Kylo would have threatened him a long time ago.

"Watch your tongue. You wouldn't want to offend your host who coincidentally works for the man you're hiding from, would you?" That shut the half-breed up. In fact now, with his arms folded around him and his eyes downcast, he no longer looked like that maddening newcomer who despised Kylo and only acknowledged him to highlight his own superiority.

He was almost vulnerable, sitting on Kylo's chair and simply waiting for Kylo to decide his fate.

His cutting remarks that once got to Kylo and made him see red now sounded like a barking of a wounded animal. Afraid and lost, but still fighting for its life.

And now he was feeling compassion for Hux. Perfect. Just perfect.

He opened his mouth to send the damned trespasser on his way but changed his mind halfway.

He had no sympathy for Hux but sending him to his death seemed harsh even for him, no matter how much dislike he harbored for the man.

And the whole scheme, though strange, seemed not at all impossible. He hardly ever watched the news but even he was aware that there were cases of missing people that even the Coruscant police was unable to solve. If it had anything to do with the half-breeds they probably wouldn't solve it anytime soon, they lacked knowledge and training to do so. If Luke refused to believe anything Hux said it was very probable that he also would be unable to do anything until it was too late. Of course, Kylo could talk to Senator Organa to look closely at her esteemed colleagues, but despite having a gift she was not a Watcher and would not be able to stop anything. It would only put her in unnecessary danger.

That, and Kylo hasn't spoken to her since he was eighteen, when she found him in this flat and asked him to come home. He made her promise to never come looking for him again.

She didn't.

"Right. So, assuming I have a kind heart and decide to help you. How is it supposed to go?"

"You let me stay here where no one would come looking for me. We stop Snoke from getting his way and maybe, just maybe I save my soul from being send to hell in the nearest future. And in return I'll give you everything you need to become a Watcher you were supposed to be." A smile that appeared on Hux's face destroyed any illusion of vulnerability he had cast before.

He knew he had won, he knew he had Kylo from the moment they sat down at the table.

All Kylo could do was stop pretending he didn't care.

*

Living with Hux was like a nightmare come true.

The man was insufferable when one met him for a short while, but living with him for a week left Kylo with a strong desire to just straight up call Snoke and ask him to take Hux away.

He cleaned and cooked and that was about it in the topic of any redeeming qualities. Kylo loved the moments he had to go and work outside his flat so that he didn't have to listen to Hux constantly bitching about his lack of order, about the hilarity of having his bedroom adorned with his grandfather's photos, about the way Kylo's couch definitely was created in hell as a torture device and many other unwelcome interior design advices. What was more, Hux developed a not exactly healthy paranoia and refused to answer any kind of communication, leaving Kylo wondering every time he was on his way back home if Hux was even there. Not that he cared.

Thankfully his contract with Snoke was rather on the 'up to date' note, which meant he arrived there to fix what was broken and that was it. Either way, it would be a problem to conceal the fact that he was harboring a man whom Snoke allegedly wanted.

The only reason he still tolerated Hux was the training. For a half-breed who came from the outside of Coruscant he had some impressive knowledge of the Dark and Light alike. In the evenings, after making sure that the windows were closed and covered, Hux sat down on the couch and started to teach Kylo everything he knew.

It soon turned out most of his knowledge was theoretical. He could go for eternity about many different creations and apparitions of the Dark and Light, about ways of recognizing them and fighting them, but that was it. He had no idea how to actually defeat a demon. How to resist its whispers and influence over one's mind.

"I think it is a matter of personal strength. If your will is strong a demon should not be able to control you. Train your mind. Fortify yourself. And hope that no demon will approach you ever again." Hux told him one evening while looking through a book he obviously stole from the Senate's Library, though when and how Kylo did not know. As a means of 'fortifying' his mind Kylo started to meditate. It was a tasking and tiring activity, but it helped to a degree. It certainly helped him with the murderous rage he felt every time Hux criticized his performance, the mistakes he made in theoretical quizzes Hux subjected him to.

Hux would sometimes join him for meditation, as if he too had too much on his mind. He probably had. Those were the few moments were his presence was almost pleasant. Kylo always had a gift to see beyond the borders of this plane. He couldn't see hell nor heaven, but he could see who was a half-breed and who wasn't, he could sense the influence of a demon if he tried hard enough, and he could somehow interpret moods, emotions surrounding people.

Hux's mind was not chaotic. It was full of fear and some kind of assurance that for a time being he was safe, but the further he went into meditation, the quieter his emotions got and serendipity entered.

It always helped Kylo to calm his mind as well.

To cease thinking and feeling, to simply exist.

It was surprising that Hux, no longer a human, would be better at this than Kylo, but then again he probably was used to being better than everyone by a principle. Some things stayed with you no matter how dead you were, Kylo supposed.

And then, one day he returned home and Hux was not in sight.

Fighting the panic inside him, Kylo almost tore his flat apart, looking for Hux, for anything that would tell him what happened.

There was nothing, no marks of fight, anything. Just emptiness and deafening silence. Nothing in the flat betrayed that Hux was ever here.

There was no way to contact Hux and the only person who might know what happened was Snoke. And what if Hux was not taken by him? What if he wasn't taken, just simply his time was up?

Kylo frantically searched in his memory for what Hux told him about half-breeds. They did not die of age, they could heal themselves, their spirit was bound to a flesh that was created on the basis of their human one, they could be cleansed and they could be 'called back'. Kylo never understood what 'calling back' meant in that case and Hux was not so forward with explaining this particular term. And now he was gone, leaving Kylo to guess if he could be in hell already. He sat down on the couch, of course meticulously cleaned. What now? Should he continue on his own? Maybe go to Luke, to convince him that Hux was telling the truth and now was paying for it... No, he wouldn't be able to face Luke, even after all these years.

And then the door swished open. Kylo almost couldn't believe it, and yet his senses were telling him that it was indeed Hux standing behind him.

"You are early." He sounded almost cheerful. That bastard. Kylo stood up and whirled around to face the damned half-breed and beat some sense to him, to convince him to never, ever to leave like that again. And then he noticed the packages Hux carried with him.

"For your weapon. They don't exactly make them in special factories, so you'll have to built one by yourself. I brought some other components, ocean water, iron, it wasn't easy to bring it back here. Why are you looking at me like that?" Instead of answering, Kylo marched to his bedroom, refusing to give Hux the satisfaction of knowing he was worried.

_Bastard._

*

Their first run in the terrain was a disaster. A successful disaster, but a disaster nonetheless.

They tracked down one of the half-breeds disguising herself as a mistress to a Senator from Corellia and she put up a good fight. Too good, to be quite truthful.

"If you only decided to go with something more useful than a freaking sword! A dagger, a fucking crossbow, anything!" Hux shouted at him, nursing his broken arm as they ran from the mansion to the speeder which they... borrowed. From the Senator himself.

"It did its job! If you had been more of a help than a nuisance we wouldn't be that battered." Kylo bit back, ignoring for the time being a wound left by claws that still throbbed with pain in his side.

"I cannot touch any of the things you fight with, remember!?"

"That makes you pretty useless then." Kylo retorted as he kick-started the speeder and they were finally in air, leaving the mansion behind.

"I did my job." Hux muttered after a while, his arm twisting and turning, bones coming together. "I put everyone to sleep with those herbs you found. I led you to her. I freaking protected you when she knocked that damned sword out of your hand, so kindly piss off!" Kylo couldn't understand why, but at that moment it was hilarious and he didn't fight the laughter that bubbled inside of him.

"Oh, hell, you are losing your mind because of the bleeding, aren't you?" The confused horror in Hux's tone set Kylo off again. He was laughing too much to act when Hux took the controls from him.

Hux drove in a relative silence, ignoring Kylo's laughter. No one even paid them any attention, the airspace of the Coruscant as always filled with traffic. Hux was not exactly a good pilot, but he was adequate enough to land them in one piece on the building's parking floor.

"I have no idea how we survived this." Hux said, carrying Kylo back to his flat. " We will get rid of the speeder after I'm done with patching you up. How could you let her come so close?"

"You sound concerned, Hux. Careful, or I might think you've developed a heart."

"Shut up and walk." Back at his flat Kylo allowed himself to be lowered to the couch and tended to while he recalled the details.

Basically Hux turned out to be right. Some of the people that disappeared were somehow aquatinted with the Senator. His florist, his favorite chief, such people. Not directly connected with him, and yet he knew them. His half-breed lover refused the share her knowledge with them but from what Hux managed to somehow manipulate her into telling, they were sending the people they took fancy to to some kind of experiments.

Unfortunately, Kylo killed her before she could say anything else through her pissing contest with Hux while she was breaking his arm one bone at the time.

"Should have let her torment me for a little longer. We'd know more." Said Hux suddenly, with a finishing touch to Kylo's side.

"You feel pain, don't you?"

"I feel many things, Ren. I could take it." They lapsed into silence.

Finally, Hux stood up and went to make some coffee, presumably. He still held some animosity towards the machine, but at least he finally learned how to use it.

"Thank you." Kylo was almost sure he imagined that one.

*

"What we learned from this encounter is that if you really want this stupid sword you need to learn how to use it."

"And that we need to figure out some way for you to not be a liability." Hux just sighed. "I looked through these texts and there might be some things we could try out. I don't intend to trash around like you, waving an impractical weapon and I cannot exactly touch anything containing water, but maybe oil? "

"Just oil? Sounds terrifying." After the wonderful events of yesterday he was in no mood to do anything. Just to lie there and whine a little.

"Oil, mixed with those herbs from Endor, the ones that burned my hand the other day. If we put them into something small and think of an igniting system we might have something like bombs."

"You really don't like close combat, do you?"

"Do shut up and work on your fighting technique, please. You were awful." It should hurt, but it sounded more like banter than a true mean comment, so Kylo let it slide. He was lying on the couch, quite comfortable, his side was healed, just tender and he had Hux plotting next to him, lost in the sound of his own voice. It wasn't so bad.

"Snoke probably knows I'm helping you already, doesn't he?" That gave Hux a pause.

"I don't think so. I'm sure he knows it was me somehow, but I don't think he would suspect you. I think at first he would be convinced I teamed up with Skywalker and his wonderful new student. You are not exactly a person who is easy to accuse of helping me." Kylo just rolled his eyes. True, but still, it would feel good to be acknowledged by the enemy, to somehow matter. To be considered a threat. The mere idea made Kylo feel powerful.

"Fine, let us go and find ingredients for your purifying grenades or whatever you want to call them."

*

It took them a while but the grenades truly did work.

They splashed oil, which burned quickly, and Endorian herbs in the air, which not only burned the victim if they stood to close, but also reduced their ability to see and smell, the smoke from the herbs strong and biting.

Kylo finally decided to listen to Hux's advice and actually train with his sword.

It wasn't as easy as he thought it should be.

His sword was created by him so it didn't exactly match the description in the books and holonet did not give him any answers besides the ones he already knew. Still, spending an hour a day just swinging it around and trying out different moves at least gave him the idea of how prevent himself from losing it ever again. He was now familiar with its weight and with its range, Knowledge that might save his life one day

Hux in another one of his raids brought another set of books from the Senate in which they found information about different kind of metals that could be also useful.

Silver, gold, anything as long it was pure.

Hux couldn't exactly touch it, but he nagged Kylo to at least make a dagger or two, just in case.

They got better at this.

Finding another politician, celebrity or an officer influenced by the half-breed was the easy part. Looking through news, through holonet paying attention to gossip usually pointed at one or two possible candidates. Then came the painstaking process of investigation, of finding out if they were right or wrong in their suspicions. Frequently they were and with Kylo developing his sense they took less and less time to decide if they wanted to act or not. He simply felt the presence of a half-breed and that's all it took.

"We are not getting any closer to finding these people, you know that?" Kylo growled one night, sitting on his couch and cleaning his sword with his robe. Wearing a robe and a mask helped much in concealing his identity, but that was just the practical gain. More appealing to Kylo was the fear he saw in the eyes of the half-breeds when he approached, silent and deadly, with his sword ready and his robes flowing around.

It was Hux's idea to come up with a costume though he still claimed it was too ridiculous. Kylo begged to differ.

"Yes, I'm aware." His voice sounded off, like he was not exactly present for the conversation. This time they were mostly unscathed, though Hux yet again managed to run out of the grenades and became an easy target. The other half-breed wasted no time in attacking the traitor, piercing him with claws and pressing to the wall while he spat hatred and threats at Hux's face.

"What was he talking about, either way? Something about Snoke waiting for you?" Hux simply nodded.

"You helped me out there." He had. As far he could he put down the second one he had been fighting and he rushed to help Hux. Nothing unusual about it. Apparently Hux thought differently. "You could have left me there. I already gave you everything you need to be an effective Watcher, you have nothing else to gain from me. You know about Snoke everything I could tell you, I'm no longer needed to solve the case. And yet, you saved me." For the first time in his life Kylo heard a real astonishment in the man's voice. As if he wasn't used to people being simply good or caring for him. He wondered, not for the first time, what kind of life Hux led when he was alive.

"Of course I did. Don't be obtuse, Hux." And he went back to cleaning the sword, though it was no longer needed. It was as clean as it could be.

He sensed rather than saw Hux approaching him and he tactfully put the sword aside.

Hux crouched in front of him, his eyes again too human, too filled with emotion.

"Why did you save me?" _Because it was a right thing to do. Because I didn't want to watch you die. Because I panic when you are not here with me. Because I don't think I could stand this flat empty again._

"I prefer you alive." And suddenly Hux's eyes were very close. Too close.

"Thank you." It was slightly more than a breath, and it yet again made Kylo shiver.

Hux should stop whispering in his presence, it had strange effects on Kylo and...

Hux's lips were extremely soft.

They were warm, so real.

He didn't know who exactly started kissing whom. All that mattered was that Hux's lips were on his and that somehow Hux's hands were in Kylo's hair and it felt good. Real.

It still felt real when they stood up, still caught up in each other and went to Kylo's bedroom, no words passing between them.

It felt real when they bumped in each other and fell down and Hux chuckled with something like fondness in his voice.

It felt real even though Hux's eyes were glimmering with their supernatural gold now that they were surrounded by darkness and Hux was fighting with the top of Kylo's robes, his eyes only source of light in the room.

By the time he had Hux in his lap, his hands on Hux's back caressing the skin that had no right to feel so good to touch, Kylo no longer cared whether it was real or not.

Soon he cared about nothing at all.

Just Hux.

*

It was a strange and sudden change in their relationship.

They still bickered, they still fought and Hux was still insufferable as a roommate.

But there were moments... He would call them tender almost. Those moments when they curled around each other with one book or other, trying to find new ways of fighting the Dark or simply watched the news, coming up with ideas where to strike next. And then there were those moments when they were not thinking about the investigation at all. There were mornings when they stayed in bed as long as they could, both pretending to be asleep so they didn't have to move just yet.

Hux was strangely warm, a fact that amazed and perplexed Kylo constantly, not that he complained. There was a time he wondered how exactly all these people managed to have sex with a corpse and enjoy it. He stood corrected now.

He should have known it was too optimistic to assume that they won't be noticed. The media noticed and although there was no footage of them, people were getting wary. He really should have known that someone would connect the dots.

One day he opened his eyes to an unholy ruckus of his door's making. He had no idea who to expect so for a good measure he took one of his daggers, gesturing Hux to stay in bed.

He wasn't ready for Luke Skywalker to be on the other side of the door.

"Ah... How did you..." He already knew the answer.

"Leia." And without any preamble Luke entered Kylo's flat as if he was invited. 

"I want you to leave." 

"When I am done. Strange things happen all around, Ben." Kylo shuddered at the use of this name.

"I don't follow." He still held the door open, hoping for Luke to get the idea and just go.

"There is not that many people interested in getting rid of the half-breeds these days. Leia insisted that you couldn't be in any way connected with whatever's going on, but I have my suspicions."

_What?!_

"You can't just barge into my house and accuse me! You have avoided contact with me for fifteen years and this is what you came here to say?!"Luke flinched. "I told mother that I do not wish to see any of you ever again and she promised not to bother me. And now you... How dare you."

Luke fell silent and suddenly Kylo realized how old he has become through all of these years. He was rather hunched and his hair were no longer sporting any colour aside from grey. His former master was old. Somehow he had never noticed before.

"I'm... sorry. But you were the only one who crossed my mind."

"Typical. After all I'm unstable and unpredictable, tainted with Dark, as you phrased it."

Luke's eyes widened. "You..."

"Yes. I've heard your talk with Han Solo. Loud and clear. I wish you gone." He even gestured to the door, for emphasis. He often imagined how he could talk to Luke, to tell him how he missed him and how he wanted to come back. With years, such dreams were fewer and fewer. But not one fantasy looked like this, with him throwing his uncle out.

"I won't apologize now because it won't change a thing, but I need to know. Was it you?"

"Why does it matter?" He finally closed the door. No need to give the neighbors a family drama show.

"I was approached by some half-breed few months ago. He tried to convince me that he knew what was going on and that all the disappearances I've been looking into are one big conspiracy theory concocted by Snoke. Of course, I did not believe him and yet someone apparently did. A half-breed murdering other half-breeds, doesn't it strike you as strange?" Kylo carefully kept silent. Hux was too intelligent to let his presence be known right now.

"Me and Rey looked at the crime scene. Only half-breeds are murdered, and what's worse with methods that indicate presence of a mortal. A mortal with a very extensive knowledge. Those are murders, Ben. Cold-blooded murders and that damned half-breed managed to convince someone of our own to do his bidding!"

"And you immediately thought of me, I'm touched."

"Was I wrong?"His voice was silent, almost soft.  Kylo was never apt at lying to Luke. No one was. Luke's senses were sharp, honed with time and besides Kylo doubted whether Luke truly didn't know the answer to his own question. So kept silent.

"Ben..." Then, his eyes widened. "You wouldn't..." And like a man possessed he ran to Kylo's bedroom, almost destroying the door on the way.

The room was empty, Hux nowhere to be seen, but his previous presence in the room was obvious. The sheets were still rumpled, bearing the signs of two people lying in it. A faint smell of sulfur was the only indication that the second person was not human. Luke whirled on him, his hand going for Ben's shirt.

"What do you think you are doing?! Have you lost your mind!?" He shouted, shaking Kylo for a greater effect.

That was quite enough. He fought Luke off, pushing him back and not caring that the older man hit the ground.

"You have no right to judge me! Not you!" He fired back, his hand instinctively going for his sword. It wasn't there. Since Hux started to share Kylo's bed, the sword stayed back in the living room where it could bring no harm.

"We are trying to maintain the balance, Ben! Fucking one of them is not 'balance'!" Luke shouted, still on the ground.

"I'm not a Watcher, Luke. You made sure I'll never be one, your rules do not apply to me." He snarled, forcing the man to stand up. "I am but a mere mortal and I have every right to welcome him in my bed. That's what your 'balance' is!"

"Then face responsibility for those murders." Luke's voice was suddenly very quiet. "I don't know what this half-breed wants to achieve, but it cannot be good."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Ben. It is what he is. He is a soul that was damned. Dark cannot become Light, that's how it goes."

"And yet your father after all of what he had done is not in hell." It was as if he had struck Luke straight in the face.

"It's not the same! He..." But Kylo was done with the conversation.

"Leave." Luke obediently moved towards the door. He looked even older now, weighted down with the conversation.

"We will have to stop you, Ben. Me and Rey. You are upsetting the balance and the Dark will answer at some point. You cannot trust him."

"But I can trust you?" Luke gave him the last look full of pity.

"I didn't die trying to blow up five planets yet."

And with that he was gone, not interested with how easily he destroyed Kylo's world.

*

Kylo wanted Hux to tell him about his life on his own accord so he didn't try to check his name in the holonet.

But Hux has still not returned and Luke's words left a bitter suspicion in his mind. So with a heart beating hard in his chest he sat down to his holopad and searched for Hux's name. A series of articles filled the screen.

_The youngest general of Arkanis. Illegal operation Starkiller. A weapon of mass destruction, fear spreading through neighboring systems. Malfunction of the mechanism. Tragic death._

Hux was a monster.

And Kylo had let him in.

This time he was ready for Hux's return.

The moment he heard the door closing behind the half-breed he sprang to action, his dagger pressed to Hux's throat, the man's body trapped between Kylo on the door.

He wanted to say something, anything to somehow let this anger,this feeling of betrayal, out.

He wanted Hux hurt, he wanted him dead.

And yet he couldn't force his hand to move.

Hux was just looking at him, understanding downing on him.

"You know."

"Shut up. Just this once, shut up or I will kill you." And thankfully Hux stayed silent.

He had said before that he had made a mistake, that he regretted it, that he wanted to redeem himself. _He had said that_.

But it was too much. He tried to blast a whole system into pieces!

Kylo didn't even try to stop the tears that were running down his face. He should get rid of him here and now, force Hux to face the punishment he deserved. But yet again, he was too weak. 

"Why?" He put the dagger down. No matter what Hux had done, Kylo would not be the one to kill him. At least not until he knew the truth.

"I was ordered to. Snoke... He was on Arkanis at the time. He became something of a spiritual leader. On Arkanis we did not know anything about Balance, we had no idea who he actually was. For us he was a powerful man with a vision. Everyone obeyed. So did I." Hux's voice was calm, almost sad. 

"Did you regret it?" His voice was shaky and unsteady, but he didn't care. He had to know.

Hux's eyes glinted with gold as he looked back into Kylo's eyes.

"I don't know. I am not the same person I was then. I changed."

"Do you regret it now?"

"Yes."

He didn't fight Hux's arms circling around him, nor did he avoid careful kisses Hux pressed to his cheeks. He wanted it to be real. He wanted to believe Hux, to be proven right and rewarded for his faith.

"I' m sorry." Hux whispered as he kept Kylo safe in his arms, not minding the dagger that was pressed to his side.

Later, much later Kylo will kiss the burn as it stitched itself up and covered with new skin.

But for now, he wanted Hux as hurt as he felt.

And Hux stayed in place.

*

Just like Luke threatened, him and Rey started to appear on their way, as if suddenly protecting the half-breeds was their mission in life.

What's worse, Snoke started to act, like Luke predicted. Not only getting to his agents became much more difficult, there were also half-breeds on an active search for Hux.

Those few times Kylo was called to the First Order to repair one thing or the other he desperately hoped that Snoke could not read minds. He was always cordial toward Kylo and seemed almost to favour him, which wasn't unusual. And yet it felt wrong somehow, like if he was manipulated, as if there was something he simply couldn't see.

The feeling disappeared them moment he came back to Hux, to their verbal fights and to the kisses stolen in-between the arguments. He could get lost in these moments when they sat down and planned what to do after they had finished with the task and the people were free.

"You could take me on a vacation." Hux said one day, his hands roaming through Kylo's hair as both of them were lying on the bed, engrossed in their reading.

"Take you? As if I should pay for it?"

"I don't exactly have a job at the moment." Hux retorted, but his fingers didn't stop.

"Which makes you my kept-man?" And since he was petty like that, he actually laughed at his own joke and Hux's indignation.

Everything was back as it should be.

They were together and they were doing what was right.

It was enough for Kylo.

And then, one night they came back from one of their raids, finally a location of the laboratory taken from the mind of the half-breed whose last words were threats to Hux's person and accusation of treason. At the time Kylo took it as a sign that his belief in Hux was well-founded.

Hux was yet again licking his wounds, waiting for Kylo to at least clean the wound he got from the fire-thrower the chancellor's granddaughter aimed at him. As Hux sat down on the couch and looked at his arm, both of them noticed the smell. It wasn't sulfur, not exactly. It was the smell of a burning wood, most unusual on Coruscant that no longer had any trees. It could only mean one thing.

"That's what the Chair smells like." The Chair. The portal to hell, or whatever one wanted to call it. It was thanks to the Chair that half-breed ever existed, it was the gate between realms allowing one who uses it to exist on every plane of reality.

"Snoke." Kylo muttered with a dread. If he was here he already knew who they were. Where Hux was.

"Indeed." Here, Hux pointed at the red, almost glowing letter carved into the table. _I await you._

"You cannot go." Hux just looked at him, unusual fondness in his eyes.

"I won't. We will recuperate and rescue the people from the laboratory. Then we will figure out how to deal with him." Hux said and kissed Kylo almost sweetly.

All of a sudden his head was heavy, too heavy and he felt so tired...

The fact that Hux's words didn't make any sense didn't hit him until he woke up alone on his own couch with the half-breed nowhere in sight.

* * *

 

"I hoped you wouldn't follow me here." Hux started, still unmoving, still looking as if Kylo's presence did not bother him in the slightest.

"You made sure I would follow you everywhere." He growled in reply, taking his sword from its place next to Snoke's remains.

"That I did. Still, I'd appreciate if you'd leave now."

It was unnerving to listen to him like that, like he had no emotion left at all. That did it.

With a swift, practiced motion Kylo threw one of his daggers straight at Hux, who simply caught it in air, not bothering with the way it burned through his skin. He didn't even wince in pain, something the old Hux would do. Kylo's Hux could feel.

"Why do you want to kill me?" He had no right to sound so... sad.

Kylo took few steps forward, walking up the podium. Hux was defenseless right now, Kylo had all of his arsenal and Hux's claws were never much of a problem for him. He felt them too often for them to make an impression. Hux should know all of that. Should beg for his life. 

And yet he simply stood up and walked forward, meeting Kylo halfway.

"Was this all for it? For the Chair? Or for the revenge?" He was seconds from piercing the half-breed with the sword, but he held his hand. He deserved to know.

"I told you the truth back then." Hux replied, truly looking like a general now. His hair as usual slicked back, a black uniform giving him a truly military air. It was probably the uniform Hux died in, Kylo observed with a detached curiosity.

"Which is...?"

"I cannot go to hell if I'm ruling it." And a victorious smile graced his features, his eyes glinting with gold. Truly, Luke knew what he was talking about. And Kylo refused to listen...

"Leave, please." It was almost impossible to hear, but Kylo was sure he didn't imagine it.

He stared at Hux in silence for a while, gathering his facts.

"We were eliminating Snoke's elite, weren't we? You came up with this scheme to justify killing them off to get to Snoke alone." But something wasn't right... It was quite a lot of evidence for it to be a mere plot... Wasn't it? As if reading his mind, Hux answered.

"Snoke's plan was authentic. He truly was trying to come up with a way to control people's thoughts and emotions. He was testing potions on selected few and taught them obedience. Conditioning, he called it. I don't think he actually wanted it to seduce people to Dark, he was too ambitious for that. He wanted a real power, like the one he had on Arkanis."

"Why hasn't he stopped you? If you knew everything..." _Keep him talking, keep asking questions. Don't get to the moment when you have to kill him._

"Because he was sure I was still working for him. He was the one who brought me back to life after all, his greatest, most capable general."

"Why would he think..." But before he finished the sentence, understanding dawned on him. "He thought you would influence me. He sent you to me."

"Yes. He wanted his own Watcher to keep Skywalker off his scent. " Hux took another step forward and put the dagger he still held in his hand onto Kylo's palm as if he no longer feared it. The skin on his hand was still damaged, but he quickly covered it with a glove. "He started to get worried when we became too effective. I told him about some of the lesser actions we did, pleading with him that it was necessary to keep you working. He didn't notice until it was too late that we took care of his most trusted men. Phasma and my people took care of the rest."

It was too much. He couldn't believe it.

"That's why Luke almost killed you then. You tried to use him in the same way, but he simply saw right through you." For a moment, Hux looked uncomfortable.

"Yes."

"And I didn't." Taking advantage of Hux's distraction Kylo ran forwards, his sword once again clattering to the floor.

Daggers were faster and more personal. After all Hux helped designing them. He didn't even react as silver went through his body, Kylo holding him in a mock of a hug. Hux gasped in pain but made no movement to fight, just let his forehead rest on Kylo's shoulder. At this point Kylo didn't want to know why. He could only hold on and watch as the gap around the dagger spread through Hux's body, malting the flesh alongside the uniform. He didn't want to know, he didn't want to understand... So of course Hux had to keep talking. 

"I knew I lost the moment you entered this room." He whispered and as always, his whisper got to Kylo in the worst way possible. "I'm defenseless against you." He carried on, his breath hot on Kylo's cheek.

"Because I'm a Watcher." He didn't really deserve this title. As long as Hux was alive, he never would, but that was what Hux made of him.

"No. Because it is you." Hux legs gave out here and Kylo absent-mindedly held him tighter, letting both of them drop to the ground, Hux's body supported by Kylo's arms.

"What's so special about me?" _Aside from astounding naivete and foolish sentimentality?_

He wanted to take the dagger out, to stop Hux from suffering, but then he would heal and Kylo didn't have it in him to stab him again. And he could not let him live.

The tears were falling again.

"You cared about me. And I cared about you. We are a selfish lot, half-breeds. I cannot hurt what's mine." Here, he laughed bitterly.

He should let him die now. He should finish the job.

That's what a Watcher would do, that was his duty.

But he wasn't a Watcher, that's what he said to Luke.

He was never to become a Watcher.

They told him he couldn't, that he was too weak...

And finally, he was ready to accept this truth. _He will never be a Watcher_. The price he would have to pay for this title would be too great.

He looked down at Hux who was simply watching him, his eyes still glowing, as if to remind him of what Hux was. How dangerous and vicious he was, how apt at lying and manipulating everyone.

And yet he pulled the dagger out and when he looked back into Hux's eyes, they were suddenly human once again, human and so surprised... As if it wasn't another part of his scheme, as if it wasn't yet another lie he would use to bind Kylo to him. 

Those eyes fooled him before with the same look he liked to call 'love' and at this moment Kylo realized he didn't care if it was only a lie. It was a beautiful one. And he wanted to be lied to.

He had lost long time ago.

He helped Hux sit up.

"Why? I am not good. I never will be, that's my nature."That might've been the first honest thing Hux ever said to him, but it didn't matter. His tone was surprised and so... authentic.

"Turns out I'm not good either." And Hux laughed at that. His wound took their time to heal, but at least he regained some of his movements, sitting up, still in Kylo's arms.

He didn't protest when Kylo pulled him into a kiss. A frantic, false kiss that to Kylo meant everything because it might not be false at all. Kylo would never know, he would only believe.  And since he was just a man, it was his right to let himself fall. 

When they finally separated Hux looked him straight into eyes and his eyes shone with promise, even though his smile had nothing tender about it. It was victorious, almost proud. 

"Live long, Kylo Ren. For your soul I shall come personally, if you would let me."

It sounded almost like a confession.

 

*

He was known as the Knight.

The Watchers usually kept their distance from him, though theoretically they should be on the same side.

Still, there was something unsettling about the man dressed in black wielding a sword,  and the rumors did not help. They said he was cursed. That the King of Hell himself swore he would drag him personally to hell when the time comes.

Where the Watchers dealt with the supernatural, the Knight dealt also with people. With the wicked, with the corrupted, and those who were seemingly above punishment. Some wanted him arrested. Some thought him mad, but just.

No one knew who he was. 

There were plenty of things no one had explanation for, like why Senator Organa's son still went to the First Order when Snoke was no longer there. And why he always waited for the Chair Room to open, just so he could slip in. In fact, no one cared.

Life on Coruscant was busy as it was, too rushed to pay any attention to any other plane than the one it occupied and it was ready to turn a blind eye to almost everything.

After all everyone had their right to chose.


End file.
